Mr Blue
by myrmidryad
Summary: When Mirage was just a rookie soldier, he and Smokescreen went to a run down planet in the backside of nowhere. While there, Mirage discovers Illusion, a professional merger, but can she remain emotionally detached? Can he? [MirageOC]


Inspiered by Catherine Feeny's Mr Blue. Just a random oneshot I _had_ to write - I couldn't get the song out of my head till I did! Grrrrr. So yeah, enjoy.

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Mr Blue…

She knew his real name was Mirage of course, but she never called her customers by their real names, detaching herself from them made her job as a merger that much easier. Not that it had helped with him.

It had started on the night of her first stage performance.

Illusion jogged across the street and into the merging house where she worked. Life was simple. Soldiers would sometimes drop in on this small port that hung on the edge of nowhere, and soldiers always needed to forget their troubles and engage in a night of fun. Primus knew, they deserved it.

But all on Illusion's mind was how she was going to find the time to wash before she went on the streets tonight.

"You're late Lu!" One of the femmes accused as Illusion rushed inside.

"I know, I know." Illusion mumbled distractedly. "Cover f'r me while I D&P?"

"Sure," Another femme called. She strutted into the throng, hips swinging, bright red plating gleaming. Starfire hadn't worked the streets for millennia, and was the star of the show.

"Thanks Star," Illusion called gratefully as she climbed up the narrow stairs, "I owe you!"

"Forget about it," Starfire waved it off, "We need to look out for each other."

Not all the femmes were as kind as Starfire however, and Illusion had to suffer the whole whisper-whisper-quick-she's-coming-glare-glare-glare deal all the way to the wash racks.

She turned on the jet spray and stepped gratefully under the stream of disinfectant, blasting away the dirt of the streets. She'd be filthy again by the end of the night, but you had to go out looking good or you wouldn't get anywhere.

Illusion had been working the merging business for the best part of two centuries, and was generally good at it. She found a customer, detached herself from him completely, merged, took the credits and left, the whole time making the customer believe she was having the time of her life.

She had just stepped out of the spray when Screwdrive, the owner of the merging house, hurried past.

"There you are!" He exclaimed, grabbing her arm, "Quickly! Polish up and then get downstairs!"

"Downstairs?" Illusion looked at her manager, confused.

"Yes!" Screwdrive shook her a little, "You're going on tonight! There're some Autobot soldiers in the area for a couple of moon cycles, and some of the higher-ups are down there right now!"

"But-"

"You've got a nice little body," Screwdrive said enthusiastically, "So hurry up, get down there and show them what you've got!"

He let go of her and ran off, leaving Illusion looking like a cornered petro-rabbit. On stage? Tonight?

The reality of it suddenly hit her with the force of an Ark ship, and she threw polish on a cloth and rubbed it in as fast as she could. Higher-ups paid good credits, and damned if she was going to miss out on that opportunity!

The system at the merging house was simple – Screwdrive ran the place, and he gave you a place to recharge, energon, and training. He had connections in a lot of places and had a couple of heavy-weight friends who acted as bouncers and also gave protection if a customer tried something on; if something happened while you were out working, you dialled the emergency frequency and either Scar or Mashup would come to investigate. You worked the streets for your first couple of centuries, getting yourself a reputation.

From the streets, you went on stage. All the femmes were trained for it, and all of them rehearsed together so that there were always femmes who knew the dance if another dropped out, but only a few actually performed.

Screwdrive got a cut off all the credits you made, but you got to keep the rest, because as he said, they were the ones walking the streets and dancing – he just provided the training and a place to stay.

Illusion rushed downstairs where Shiner, the backstage femme, was waiting for her.

"Get out there!" She whispered urgently, and gave Illusion a hearty shove to get her onto the stage. Luckily, the curtains were drawn, but a few of the femmes already there gave her reproachful looks.

"Sorry, sorry," She mouthed as she made her way to her position on the far left. Just in time, for the music started up, and all the femmes struck poses as the curtains swept open grandly.

The femmes walked forward, smiling sexily at the audience, some of which were indeed higher-ups, Illusion saw. She pouted and spun wildly like a top with three other femmes in the middle and on the far right. She stopped herself with a jerk and bent over.

The femme in front reached out and pulled Illusion over her shoulders, the effect graceful and provocative. Illusion struck a pose as Starfire strutted into the middle of the stage and did a solo involving two other femmes while Illusion and the femmes round the edge did little freeze frame poses.

Illusion twirled her slender fingers and ran her optics over the audience to see if she might get a customer tonight. A few were regulars and rested their optics on her curiously for a moment or two, but soon forgot the small femme in the corner, focusing instead on Starfire and her two tall strong friends.

Illusion and the side femmes turned their backs on the audience, bent over and shook themselves temptingly. Illusion took a deep breath and composed herself for the next bit. Now was her chance to shine.

As the music reached a peak, the femmes at the sides flipped and cartwheeled to opposite ends of the stage one by one, each striking a pose halfway along to show what they were made of.

Illusion was the last one to go and nearly narrowed her optics before reminding herself to be sexy at all times. She flipped on the spot, jumped into the air and twisted so she landed facing the audience in the middle of the stage. She flashed her white optics at them, smiling slyly and jerking her arms in the air to show off her wares before flipping off into her corner again. She hadn't messed up, and could see a couple of mechs eyeing the little slip of a femme in the corner who had such dazzling white optics.

She smiled in exhilaration and spun off stage with the others as Starfire did one final solo before disappearing into the stage floor, smiling triumphantly. From here on in there was no real choreography; the femmes danced provocatively on stage, trying to entice a customer to take her away.

Illusion was on quickly – femmes were being taken faster than usual due to the numbers of Autobot soldiers out there. She danced slowly and gracefully, each move deliberately intended to make the audience watch her.

She needed a customer tonight – she needed the credits to pay for the course she was taking at the academy in town. She didn't intend to stay a merger forever, but she needed a licence to go into town, and though her card said Professional Merger, it was still a licence, and times were hard.

She continued to dance well into the night, but no one picked her. She gave up eventually and went to the wash racks again. It seemed she would have to street walk tonight after all.

She turned up her internal heaters as she walked briskly down to the east side where the bars were. There were already a few other femmes there strutting their stuff. They all belonged either to themselves, in which case they were there illegally, or to Screwdrive's place. Illusion recognised two of them, so the other three were illegal.

Starfire had told her that a millennia and a half ago when the town had just been built, there had been four merging houses, all competing for space. It hadn't been nice – the owners didn't care about the femmes and the femmes fought each other for the top customers.

Starfire had been working for Grease, one of the four owners. He had often merged with his own femmes against their will. Then Screwdrive had come. He had bought each femme with his own credits and before long the other four owners were bankrupt as new mergers went to Screwdrive, for his kindness to them and his treatment of them as equals. Screwdrive had saved them all.

He had saved Illusion. Illusion had turned up in the run down town with no idea of who she was or where she came from – all she knew was her name. Starfire had found her hiding in an ally and had taken her to Screwdrive. He had taken her in and never tried to force her into anything, but still gave her a place to stay and the training to be one of the best.

And now she would repay him.

She nodded to the two femmes she recognised and went into a place she knew nearby that sold good energon. She handed over a couple of her last credits and sat down at the last available table, posturing her body so no one could mistake her for what she was – a merger looking for a customer.

Suddenly the door opened and two Autobots came in. Illusion's eyes lit up, and she posed invitingly. The two 'Bots ordered a couple of energons and looked around. One was taller than the other, a soft smoky grey in colour, he looked lean and tough, but gentle at spark. The other was white and blue, and looked slightly aloof, though Illusion could tell he would try to hide it if he knew it was that obvious.

"Sirs," The bartender tapped the larger one on the shoulder and handed them their energon.

Smokescreen looked around. The only table that wasn't full was occupied by a white-eyed femme who was staring at them tantalizingly. A merger, he realised. He smiled and stepped past Mirage.

"Excuse me," He said, optics sparkling, "Is anyone sitting here?" He smiled at the femme, knowing that whoever took her away tonight, it sure wouldn't be him. Mirage however…who knew if he'd even met a merger before with his high class upbringing?

The femme smiled up at them, her every move calculated to intoxicate, "Jus' me, soldier," She flashed her optics and Smokescreen sat down next to her, waving for Mirage to do the same.

Mirage sat down uncertainly, clutching his energon tightly. The femme reached over and ran her hand over his, setting his glass on the table and untensing his fingers. Mirage tried to stop his jaw dropping – was such close contact common here?

"Relax soldier," The femme laughed, "The energon won't run away!" Mirage nodded but didn't smile. "Name's Illusion," The femme smiled, "And who might you fine mechs be?"

"I'm Smokescreen," Said the grey, "And he's Mirage," He jerked his chin at the blue and white.

Illusion leaned back comfortably in her chair, showing off the angles and curves to her body, "So what brings soldiers to our humble town?" She asked, the smile never leaving her face. Smokescreen had to admit – she was good. He glanced at Mirage and stifled a chuckle. The young mech was goggling at Illusion like he'd never seen a femme before.

"We're here recruiting," Smokescreen told her, "You'll be seeing us around for the next couple moon cycles." The femme's smile grew wider and she began to ask more questions, none of them deep enough to ring Decepticon alarm bells, and none of them personal. They bought a couple more rounds of energon and Mirage felt himself loosen up enough to talk and smile.

"Closing," The bartender nodded to them, directing a glance at Illusion in particular.

"Thanks Tool," She called to him with another smile. She turned to Smokescreen and Mirage, "Any of you looking for some pleasure tonight?" She asked, hiding the slight desperate note in her vocals.

Smokescreen shook his head, "Not for me, though thanks for your company Illusion – I'll ask around back at base, see if anyone's lookin' f'r a femme like you." He smiled at her and got up.

Illusion turned to the blue, "How about you?" She tilted her head and stretched, showing her wares, "You lookin' for anyone special tonight?"

Mirage opened his mouth to reply – and Smokescreen's comm. beeped. He cursed and raised his forearm to his mouth.

"Smokescreen here." He said curtly. He turned away from Mirage and Illusion and talked for a moment, then snapped his arm to his side and turned back to them. "I'm needed," He said shortly, softening the effect with a smile, "I need to get to the base now. Illusion, do you know where the nearest speed stop is?"

She was already on her feet and beckoned them to the door. "The nearest is two streets from here," She said, glancing at her time piece on her wrist, "If you run you might just catch it."

Smokescreen thanked her and ran off, his speed surprising the femme – she hadn't expected a 'bot of his size to be so fast! She turned to the blue, who was looking after Smokescreen apprehensively.

"Just you 'n' me now Mr Blue," She said, her smile returning to her face, "Which way you goin'?"

Mirage looked at the femme in surprise. He hadn't thought she would care about him.

"Back to the base I suppose," He said, each word spoken perfectly. Illusion smiled at his accent before replying.

"And where's that?"

Mirage looked down at the femme. Usually accents annoyed him – why couldn't people speak properly for Primus' sake? But for some reason, Illusion's soft easy accent didn't bother him. In fact, he quite liked it. It fit her low, intoxicating voice and enticing manner perfectly, not to mention her seemingly permanent smile.

He shook his head, "I'm finding it difficult to remember exactly where it is," He frowned, "But I'm sure it is in that direction." He swept his arm to the street on their left.

"Well in that case Mr Blue," Illusion wrapped her arm around his waist and brought herself into the circle of his body, "Let's start walkin' an' maybe you'll remember inna while."

Mirage agreed, the energon affecting him more than he realised. "So where're you from Mr Blue?" Illusion smiled at his side, "Not fr'm round here with that high up accent I'm bettin'."

"I come from the towers of Iacon," Mirage proclaimed loftily, "I was a neutral."

"The towers?" Illusion frowned, "Weren't they attacked?"

"Yes," Mirage sighed, "I was one of the only survivors." He half-closed his optics, remembering his days before the war. He had had everything he could ever wish for- high company, good entertainment, turbo-fox hunts, intellectual discussions…

"Were y'happy?"

Mirage looked down at Illusion's concerned face in surprise. Why should she care?

Had he been happy? Another part of him wondered. The company and the hunts had been…enjoyable, but did they make him happy?

"I don't know," He said thoughtfully.

They lapsed into silence as Illusion went over all kinds of possible conversation starters in her head. The last thing she needed was a reminiscent 'Bot soldier on her hands.

"So what rank are you?" She asked finally, "I'm guessin' pretty high huh? Cos o' all that hidden strength." She smirked, squeezing her arm around his hips slightly.

Mirage laughed slightly and was about to answer when a thick-set thug in uniformed armour strode up to them. He looked grumpy in a looking-for-trouble kind of way, and flashed a badge at them before holding out an arm and stopping them in their tracks.

"Licences?" He grunted threateningly.

"Licences?" Mirage looked confused, "What do you mean?" He turned to ask Illusion what the mech meant, when the thug backhanded him across the face without warning, sending him reeling into a wall.

"If y'don' know what a licence is, y'obviously don' hav' one," The mech sneered, getting a vibra-zap from his subspace.

"Hey!" Illusion narrowed her optics, the white blazing angrily, "He's an Autobot soldier! So you mind y'manners!"

"Yeah, sure looks like a soldier!" The thug laughed, turning back to where Mirage…wasn't. The mech looked up in surprise, then suspicion, "Hey where'd 'e go?"

"Here," Whispered a voice right next to his left audio, but when he wheeled sharply, there was no one there.

"What the-?" The thug's optic ridges met in an angry scowl, "Where'd 'e go?"

"Over here," The voice whispered into his right audio, and the mech yelled, flailing at the empty air before righting himself and glaring furiously at Illusion, who was standing to the side, not showing her shock, but smirking quietly.

"You're doin' this!" The thick-set mech shouted, moving forward threateningly. He hadn't moved more than a step when he found himself flying backwards, punched by an invisible fist.

He staggered upright, only to be punched down again. He kept getting up and being punched down till he was finally punched into stasis. Illusion laughed as Mirage appeared, a slightly sheepish expression on his face.

"That was brilliant!" She snorted, shoulders shaking, "He looked so surprised…!" Mirage began to laugh with her and soon the two could hardly stand up. Finally they composed themselves and continued walking.

"What was that licence thing about?" Mirage asked Illusion as they turned a corner into a busier part of town.

"Here y'have t'have a licence to go int'the main town," Illusion explained, "As it's the only place y'can get anythin', learn anythin', buy anythin' etcetera, it helps t'have a licence. Y'can try the black market, but it's unreliable, and riddled with spies for rivalling factions. Easier t'jus' get a licence and be done."

"So what do these licences look like?" Mirage asked. Illusion took a small card from her subspace and handed it to him. It read, 'Name: Illusion. Faction: Neutral. Occupation: Professional Merger. Place of Residence: Screwdrive hospitality.'

"Professional Merger?" Mirage read out loud. Illusion smiled and took the card from his fingers.

"Wh't else did y'think I could be, lookin' an' actin' like I do?" Illusion subspaced the card and laughed.

"Erm…a confident femme?" Mirage tried, his coolant pump jumping with embarrassment.

Illusion laughed and wrapped her arm around his waist again. "So now you _know_ what I am," She said, her optics flashing at him temptingly, "How about I _show_ you what I am?"

She rubbed her hand up his leg, and he shivered slightly. "I have to get back…" He muttered half-heartedly.

"No you don't," Illusion whispered, turning to face him, both arms linking around his hips. "Come on," She leaned in close, half closing her optics as she'd been taught, "You look like you could use some pleasure." She prayed that she hadn't said the wrong thing, but Mirage wavered.

"I really have to go…" But his words were automatic; his blue optics showing how much he did want to stay. This part was the hardest, and Illusion suddenly looked the mech right in the optics and…stalled. Her mind was a total blank. All she could think about were those blue, blue optics…

"Mr Blue," She murmured softly, and brought her lips to his. He responded and kissed Illusion back fiercely, sending her flares in twos and threes. She automatically transferred the energy to her spark core, barely registering the pleasure.

She sent flares back to the Autobot with masterful precision, stoking his insides and making his spark crackle. This was her saviour – she would merge, collect the credits, maybe sign a contract if he liked her enough, and leave.

So why the blank moment?

She told herself it was a system glitch, all over now as she calculated how much Mr Blue could take without passing out on her. "My place?" She murmured, pulling Mr Blue away with her without waiting for a response. She knew what the reply would be anyway.

"I can't…"

She barely managed to stop her optics widening in surprise – this was the first mech ever to resist her charms. She had underestimated him.

She recovered quickly and seduced the mech with another powerful wave of flares. This time he followed her, and she led him through the town boundaries and into the maze of streets that surrounded the ten story block of apartments where she and all the other femmes from Screwdrive's place lived.

She drew him in through the back entrance and up the flights of stairs, right to the end of the eighth floor corridor, into her room, closing the door behind them. Her room was simple – no decorations or fancy displays, nothing in front of the mirror but a small can of oil and a rag.

"Illusion…?" The blue mech looked at her, and once again Illusion's mind blanked, then recovered with barely a hiccup in her systems.

"Mr Blue," Illusion smiled and kissed him again, sending him such powerful flares he fell backwards onto her berth. Vaguely he wondered how many mechs had lain on this berth with the merger, but all thoughts vanished as the femme ran her hands up his sides.

Illusion merged with Mirage that night like it was all she wanted, all she needed, like it _meant_ something. And deep down, she was guilty, because it so obviously meant something to him. And she told herself as she lay awake next to the slumbering blue figure, that all it meant to her was the credits, nothing else. Never anything else.

Smokescreen helped Mirage keep his secret and put him on night patrol every night so he could go to Illusion. He signed a contract and transferred his credits to her willingly. The secret was a big one to keep, but worth it at the moment when he would wait in Illusion's room and watch her face transform from a tired sag to a smile as she saw him.

They both began to get to know each other a lot better, though Illusion never called Mirage anything but Mr Blue. Gradually, Mirage began to relax a lot easier, and whether he knew it or not, his accent diminished slightly, not disappearing entirely, but it was toned down so he didn't seem so up himself any more. He laughed more, smiled easier, and if anyone noticed the change, they didn't care.

Meanwhile, Illusion was having trouble keeping Mr Blue at an emotional distance. She began to daydream in her breaks and classes, dreaming of the moment when she could go home and Mr Blue would be waiting.

For whether they knew it or not, Mirage and Illusion were growing closer and closer with each passing day.

The time piece beeped.

Illusion reached out and turned it off, sitting up in the berth and stretching before climbing out gracefully. Mirage watched her lithe body sleepily as she rubbed oil into the sensitive areas around her optics, darkening them to make her white optics seem to glow brighter.

"Why do you get up so early?" He asked from his warm position in her berth. She turned and smiled at him.

"Because I need to go to the Academy," She said, pulling a re-useable stick-on insignia from a drawer and sticking one on each leg, to show herself as a student. She stuck one on her front too, smoothing out the creases.

"Not right now," Mirage reached out and caught her hand, pulling her onto the berth. She chuckled and stole a kiss from him before standing up.

"Yes right now," She went over and closed the draw, "And if I stay any later I'll be late, and that won't look good." She smiled sadly at the disappointed look on the face of her mech.

She wanted to stay, he realised, even though mergers were meant to be emotionally detached, Illusion wanted to stay with him.

But all the same, she continued to smile sadly while she kissed his cheek and left. Mirage sighed. Even if she wasn't emotionally attached, he knew he was. He had noticed the way his coolant pump would jump whenever she walked towards him, how he couldn't help smiling when he thought about her, the way he just wanted her to stay in this room, no matter what the cost…

His alarm beeped and he sighed. He had to get back to base. Back to reality.

A grunt stopped Illusion on her way to the Academy and asked to see her licence. She willingly pulled it out of subspace and showed it to him. The uniformed mech sighed, "Sorry femme, y'card expired yest'rday. No goin' t'town f'r you t'day."

Illusion took the card back and glanced at it. Sure enough, it was expired. She muttered a few curses under her breath. It was more than her spark's worth to try and get into town without a licence, so she just had to thank the mech and walk to the licence shop.

It was renewed quickly, but by now she was too late to get in – the Academy shut its gates after the first class had started. Education was important, they said, and if you didn't think it was important enough to turn up on time, you obviously didn't deserve the opportunity.

Illusion sighed and wondered what she would do. She could always go to the merging house and join in some of the classes there, but she knew all the material and she wouldn't be on stage any time soon with her nights taken up with Mr Blue. Uncontrollably, she smiled at the thought of him, and decided on a whim to go to the base see what was so important about it.

So thinking, she strolled away from the licence shop (the only shop allowed outside the town), and made her way to the base.

The Autobots had set up their base in a large compound on the outskirts of town, right next to the scrap piles the town deposited there every moon cycle. She was small, and slipped into the piles of junk surrounding the place easily. She crept up a mountain of rusting metal and peered over the top. She had a perfect view of the training ground and she smiled and settled down to watch.

It wasn't long before a commander led his team into the clearing and set them some exercises to wake them up. With a thrill, Illusion recognised Mr Blue in amongst the fighting soldiers, defending himself against Smokescreen.

Illusion slid down further till she could mostly hear what was going on. The soldiers had stopped sparring and had now been organised into two teams – the red and blue team. Mr Blue was on the red team.

Each team was given a flag in their colours and told to defend their flag and capture the other team's flag. Whichever team captured the other team's flag first won.

The commander blew a horn and the game began. Illusion smiled as Mr Blue instantly vanished.

The ground on this planet was so compressed, no one could see any footprints as Mirage made his way through the fight. The other 'Bots would guard the flag, his team had agreed, with two of them occasionally attacking, but Mirage would simply march unseen through the blue team's defences and take the flag.

Everyone knew about his little trick, but it was still a great advantage in a game like this. The only problem was getting the flag out of the blue's ring of defence. Mirage crept close and snatched a fallen rifle from the ground, creeping up behind a blue defender and whacking him to the ground with one blow.

He did this until most of the threat was eliminated, then took the flag, hiding it behind the rifle and crawling along the ground to get back to his team base. If anyone tripped over him, they assumed it was the rifle and ignored it.

Finally, he made it back and reappeared, waving the flag in the air.

"We've won!" Smokescreen yelled from beside him, "We've won!"

The commander blew the horn and the fighting stopped. "And how did you do it?" He growled.

"We defended our flag while Mirage –" Smokescreen began, but the commander raised a hand to cut him off.

"Ah yes, the invisible princling," The commander, it seemed, couldn't speak without growling. Illusion saw Mr Blue bristle. The commander took the flag from Mr Blue's hands and snapped it.

"Do you know what this exercise was for, princling?" The commander leaned down and stared Mirage in the face, his optics narrowed.

"To capture the other team's flag sir?" Mirage answered flatly. For some reason his commander didn't like him. He had no idea why, but had resigned himself to it.

The commander whacked him none too lightly across the back of head. "Idiot!" He barked, "That was the objective! The point of this exercise was to see how well you worked as a team! And did you work as part of a team? No!"

The commander whacked him again and Mirage stared stonily at the ground. This happened so often, he was surprised he didn't have a permanent dent.

The commander strode up to the lines of assembled warriors and pointed at Mirage with relish, "This 'Bot," He proclaimed loudly, "Thinks he can just turn invisible and everything will be fine!" He walked up to Mirage and snarled in his face. "Well it won't!" He bellowed.

He began to pace the line between Mirage and the rest of the warriors. "Just because that little trick saved your miserable hide when the 'Cons attacked the towers," He addressed Mirage in a growl, "Doesn't mean it'll work every time!"

"I know sir." Mirage said coldly, still glaring at the ground.

"Do you?" The commander snarled, "We'll see!" He turned to the line of assembled mechs, "The princling thinks he knows! Let's see shall we! New exercise – you are all blue team, the princling is the red team." He turned to Mirage, "You are forbidden to use your cloaking device!" He sneered and blew his horn.

Mirage ducked as a mech shot at him. He knew the commander hated him, but setting everyone else on him was just cruel! They were going to pound him into the ground! He yelped as a shot clipped his shoulder and started running. Some of the 'Bots who didn't like his attitude whooped and ran after him, shooting wildly and kicking him from behind.

Smokescreen and a few others ran too, but hung back, reluctant to join in the hunt. Illusion watched the whole thing in horror. Did this happen often? She wondered, did his commander always victimize the poor blue and white mech?

It wasn't long before Mirage was hunted down and, as he had predicted, pounded into the ground. It hurt.

The commander let the princling feel the pain for a while before he finally blew the horn. Mirage didn't move as the other mechs stood away, some of them giving him a kick as they did.

"GET UP PRINCLING!" The commander roared. Mirage slowly unplastered himself from the ground and stood to attention. He had never ached so much in his entire life, and that was saying something.

"That's what would happen in a real battle princling!" The commander spat, "You'd get pummelled into scrap! Now tell me what the point of _that_ exercise was?"

Mirage dragged his head up so his optics met the commander's. "To pummel me into scrap sir?" He grated out. Someone had hit his vocal circuits, and his voice was hoarse.

The commander whacked him round the back of his head, and Mirage hissed in pain. "The idea was, princling," The commander glared into Mirage's optics, "To show you what a real battle would be like! You wouldn't activate your cloaking device and hide like the coward you are! You'd fight!"

"Would I?" Mirage spat, glaring back at the commander. He knew he'd pay for it later, but he couldn't take this slag any longer. "In a battle I'd activate my cloaking device and take out as many 'Cons as I possibly could to lessen the threat of defeat! My cloaking is an advantage! Why should I not use it?!"

The commander's optics blazed with fury and he viciously kicked Mirage's legs out from under him. "You are a disgrace!" He shouted, kicking Mirage repeatedly, "You would cloak like a coward would you? Is that why you survived when the towers fell?"

Mirage, who had curled into a ball, stood up suddenly, surprising the commander. "What else could I have done?" He shouted, his body beginning to shake, "I didn't even know I could become invisible till the Decepticons attacked! I didn't hide! I did the best I could! I …" He trailed off, drawing air into his systems heavily to cool them down.

The commander narrowed his optics. "The best you could?" He growled, "You will never be anything but a coward and a failure! Pathetic _princling_!" He jerked his chin at the other soldiers, "You lot get inside. _You_," He glared at Mirage, "You run laps until I decide you can come in. MOVE!"

He turned and stalked away. Smokescreen and a few others gave Mirage sympathetic looks, but they followed the commander.

Illusion stared as Mr Blue slumped in defeat and began to jog around the training ground. A light on her arm bleeped, telling her that the Academy was opening its gates for the break, allowing the students to go out and buy some energon.

She shivered as she gave Mr Blue one last look, his desolate figure running lonely laps, before she made her way through the piles of scrap and junk, back to the town.

That night, Illusion opened the door to her room to find Mr Blue already there. He had obviously been to the wash racks, as all that was visible from that morning's so-called 'training exercise' were a few dents.

He looked tired, she noticed, as she smiled a greeting. "You look a bit battered," She said, kissing him lightly.

"Training exercise," He said, optics clouding a bit at the memory.

"Fun?" She pulled him onto the berth and sat behind him, legs spread wide, arms resting lightly on his hips.

He laughed bleakly. "You could say that." He leaned into her and sighed. This was the only good thing he'd had to look forward to all day.

"Poor Mr Blue," She held him gently, optics guessing where he might feel pain. He simply sighed and closed his optics.

Illusion pushed him forward gently and ran her hands over his back, feeling the dents and bruises. She reached behind her and pulled a small can of an unlabelled substance and a cloth from the shelf behind her.

"What're you doing?" Mirage asked, too tired to really mind.

"Helping," Illusion kissed his shoulder and poured some of the contents of the can onto the cloth, "You look like you really took a beating," She whispered, rubbing the cloth on his back gently.

"I did." Mirage hissed as she touched a sensitive spot and she kissed the side of his helm.

"Tell me?"

So Mirage told her about the commander that hated him and the exercise that had him curled on the ground in a heap, battered from head to foot, as Illusion rubbed his back gently with the cloth. Slowly he began to feel better.

"Thank you," He said, turning and looking her in the optics.

"For what?" She smiled.

"Listening." Mirage leaned forward and kissed her, caressing her lips with his, sending in a sweet flare, soft and grateful.

Illusion closed her optics and let the can and cloth fall from her fingers, loosing herself in him. They merged slowly, sweetly, Illusion being careful not to hurt the sensitive metal around Mirage's dents.

They lay awake afterwards, Illusion holding one of Mirage's hands against her chassis.

"I wish I never had to leave," Mirage said suddenly, "I wish I could stay here forever."

"Forever's a long, long time," Illusion said softly, caressing his hand slowly.

"Exactly," Mirage turned his head towards hers and looked at her. "Where did you come from? Before you came here I mean."

Illusion looked at him, then back up at the ceiling. "I don't remember," She said quietly, "My memory chips have been wiped. I don't know who my creators were, what they looked like, where I lived, what I did, who I _was_. All I remember is my name – Illusion."

"What's your earliest memory?" Mirage after a while, not intrudingly, just a quiet, before-recharge musing.

Illusion thought for a while. "I was in a cargo hold," She whispered, "A stowaway. The ship landed here and I was found and left behind. The Starfire found me and I became a merger."

"You don't know how old you were then?" Mirage closed his optics, the warmth of Illusion's body comforting against his.

"No idea," Illusion answered, a little sadly, "But I've been workin' as a merger for just over two hundred planet cycles."

"Only that long?" Mirage opened his optics in surprise and Illusion chuckled.

"I know. Starfire's been a merger for millennia – she was born into it. I can't imagine being a merger for that long."

"So you're not going to be a merger forever?" Mirage closed his optics again.

"No," Illusion smiled, "But I need the credits to pay f'r my classes at the academy, and I need to repay Screwdrive f'r all he's done."

"I thought all he asked for was a cut off the credits you made," Mirage frowned.

"That's all he asks for, yeah, but I need to repay him so he can help others like me," Illusion smiled sleepily and turned over, her back facing Mirage, still holding his hand.

Mirage looped his other arm round Illusion's slender body and drew her close to him. "Do you…do you think using my invisibility is cowardly?" He asked quietly.

Illusion scowled. Slagging stupid commander, putting idiotic thoughts like that in his head!

"Of course not!" She replied, making her voice sound puzzled, "It's an advantage! You could be one of the best Autobot spies ever!"

"A spy," Mirage shook his head. "I could never be a spy," He said, "Only the best are spies and saboteurs. I'm worthless."

Illusion spun angrily in his arms and cradled his face in her hand, "Don't you ever say that!" She said fiercely, "You are not worthless! You have one of the greatest gifts anyone could hope for, and anyone who says different is just jealous!"

Mirage still shook his head, optics downcast, so Illusion kissed him desperately, holding his head to hers. She drew back and rested her forehead against his.

"Whatever anyone else says," She whispered, "You'll never be worthless to me."

Mirage kissed her back then, and they merged once more, exhausting themselves till they fell into a deep stasis.

Illusion woke early as always, and Mirage watched as she pasted her student insignias on her chassis and legs.

"Did you mean it, last night?" He asked from her berth. She turned to him in the process of oiling her face plating.

"Of course," She smiled, optics still clouded with tiredness. She wiped her hands clean and sat on the berth where he pulled her down to him and nuzzled her softly.

"I think…" He paused, then continued, as though this was something that had been on his mind, and something he needed to say. "I think I…love you." He looked up at her, blue optics bright and painfully hopeful, though he tried to hide it.

Illusion closed her optics. Saying she loved him would be emotional, and she needed to be emotionally detached. So she bit back the words on her lips, _I love you too_…and said instead, "I can't say I love you…I need to remain detached. I…I'm sorry." She kept her optics closed so she wouldn't have to see his face and stood up, turning to the door.

"You can't say you love me…?" Mirage said, partly to himself. He sat up. "Do something for me?" He asked. Illusion turned, her optics still downcast. "Call me Mirage?" He whispered, "Not just Mr Blue? Just once?"

Illusion trembled, her hand reaching for the door handle behind her, "I can't," She couldn't look at him, lest her optics betray her, "I'm sorry…I can't…" She turned her face away and slipped through the door.

"Illusion!" Mirage cried. The door stopped, a second away from closing. "Do you love me?"

The door didn't move, and then Illusion was there, arms wrapped around him, desperate kisses on her lips.

"I do love you," She whispered into his audio, "More than you'll ever know… Mirage." She kissed him one last time, and then she was gone, the door closed behind her.

Mirage smiled in disbelief. She loved him! His alarm beeped and he got up in a trance. Nothing the commander did today could possibly crush this feeling inside of him! He practically floated back to base. He couldn't wait to see her again!

This was bad! This was very bad!

Illusion rushed into the Academy and sat through her first class, her thoughts buzzing in her head. Had she learned nothing? Never _never_ get emotionally attached! It was one of the first rules of merging! What had she been thinking?!

During her first break, she forgot about it for a few blissful mini cycles. Someone mentioned the colour blue in passing and she smiled dreamily for a moment before her mind hurdled her into the memory of what she'd said that morning.

Just after her classes for the day ended, she got a message from Screwdrive – they were short of femmes for that night's dance and could she step in? They were desperate.

Illusion could never refuse her manager with something like that, so she sent a message back saying she'd be there to rehearse as soon as she could. Then she sent a message to Mr Blue saying she had to work that night, but he could come and watch if he wanted.

Almost as soon as she sent it, she wished she could take it back. She was on her way to the merging house when Mr Blue replied – he might not be able to come to the merging house, but if he couldn't, he'd be waiting in her room.

Illusion sighed with relief and hoped he wouldn't be able to come. She peeled off her student stickers as she jogged to the merging house and subspaced them. Right now she needed to focus her mind on learning whatever dance Shiner had choreographed for them that night.

Mirage sat down in the shadows at the back of the merging house. He knew Illusion would be nervous if she knew he was here, so he made sure he wasn't visible from the stage.

The curtains were drawn, and Mirage's sensitive audios could pick up tiny sounds from behind it as the femmes moved into position.

A handsome dark mech walked onto the stage in front of the curtains. "For your pleasure tonight," He projected his voice rather than shouting, "We present to you…_Femme Fatale_!"

He bowed offstage as the curtains glided open and the music started up. The stage was dark and with a flourish, the spotlight fell on a femme in the centre. She strutted down the stage, posing as she reached the end and began to sing in a deep, rich voice, green optics slanting enticingly at the mechs in the audience.

She raised her optic ridges suggestively and backed away, a different femme striding into the spotlight and taking up where she'd left off, swinging her hips and belting out the words in a powerful voice, throwing her head as she reached the end of her verse in a tuneful "Whooo_oooo_oooa!"

She bent over backwards and pushed another femme between her legs, lifting her up into the spotlight and striking a pose as she stalked away into the ranks of the chorus femmes at the sides.

The new femme didn't sing so much as talk, but in rhythm and with a kind of tone to her voice that made it just as good as singing. She moved her body in time to the beat and backflipped off when her verse ended.

Then the whole chorus line was lit up and they walked forward, all singing. Mirage could see Illusion in the second row, in perfect time with everyone else as the first line reached the edge of the stage, jerked their heads contemptuously and strutted away between the lines of the second row, who all put their hands on their hips and swung their heads from side to side as if in the throes of passion before falling to their knees and bending their torsos backwards almost horizontally.

The lights flashed, and the first femme appeared in the centre stage again, swaying and twirling erotically while the chorus femmes stood and backed away, linking arms and swirling in and out of each other.

The second femme spun in from the wings, mock-pushing the other femme out of the way. The two femmes began to dance together, linking their legs and bending over backwards while the third femme came up behind them and sang a long, low note, the first two joining in halfway to harmonize.

Mirage had to admit, it looked good, but he couldn't take his optics off a certain femme in the second row, who was now twisting and writhing with two other femmes.

The music slowed slightly, with a pounding in the background, and the three femmes cried together, "More!"

"_More_!" The chorus echoed, thrusting their hips forward.

"More!"

"_More_!"

"MORE!"

"_Moooooooooore_!!"

The chorus closed their optics as if reaching climax and then sighed in apparent ecstasy, the main femmes doing the same. The music faded and the stage went dark. The curtains flowed in, and the audience applauded enthusiastically, Mirage among them.

The dark handsome mech walked on stage and bowed to the audience on behalf of the femmes. "The Screwdrive Merging House next presents our very own _Solaaaaarisss_!!" He bowed again and the curtains flew open, showing an electric blue femme posing alluringly. She began to sing in a husky voice that just dripped warmth and sexiness, but Mirage wasn't interested.

He stood up and paid the bartender for his energon, adding a good tip. The bartender nodded and smiled, inviting him to return soon.

Mirage stood outside, wondering if he should wait for Illusion to emerge or make his way back to the room. His problem was solved as Illusion herself came from a small door on the edge of the building.

She saw him immediately, and jogged over, the cold air chilling her metal. "What're you doin' here?" She asked, hugging him with a smile.

"I came to see your show," Mirage told her, slipping his arm round her shoulders and steering her in the direction of the street.

"Not my show Mr Blue," She smiled, his metal warm against hers, "An' anyway, y'missed it."

"No I didn't," Mirage hugged her close, "I saw the whole thing. Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

Illusion closed her optics then opened them again. He didn't sound affronted at all, as she'd expected him to – he sounded impressed!

"Screwdrive and Shiner trained me," She said cautiously.

"You were amazing!" Mirage smiled down at her as they walked.

"Thank you," She smiled up at him, not quite able to hide the note of pleased surprise in her voice.

He smiled back at her and they walked in comfortable silence. "I'll never be able to do anything as well as you did that dance," Mirage said, his mind wandering back to the fresh insults and false accusations dished out to him that day.

"I don' know," Illusion said easily, "Y'can go invisible better than I can,"

Mirage smiled despite himself, "Yeah but that's inborn, not a learned thing like that dance,"

"So?" Illusion leaned her head on his shoulder peacefully, "At least it's something to be proud of, something you know is a talent. I can't say that about my dancing."

"You worked to do that though," Mirage sighed, "I'll never be anything."

Illusion stopped and reached out a hand to Mirage's face, brushing his jaw lightly with two fingers. "Hey Mr Blue," She tilted her head, optics glittering, "Look up there." She turned her face up, and Mirage did too, curious at what was so interesting.

"What?" He stared up at the sky.

"See that?" Illusion swept her hand across the vision, "Y'see that?"

Mirage looked, the immensity of space striking him suddenly like one of the commanders blows. Stars twinkled and winked, whole galaxies shimmering like nothing he'd ever seen. The sky wasn't just black, but a whole pallet of shades of blue and purple, splashes of violet melting seamlessly into dark indigo.

The soldier gaped, optics wide. How had he never seen this before?

"The view tonight is the best I've seen," Illusion remarked, white optics glowing in the darkness. She turned to Mirage, who dragged his optics from the stunning starscape above.

"Hey Mr Blue," She murmured, cupping his face with a hand and running her thumb under his optic, "Don't hold your head so low y'can't see the sky. There's so much out there, an' we're so small." Her mouth quirked in a half smile, "Don't forget to look up an' remember that."

He smiled suddenly, his optics shining. He leaned down and captured her lips with his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sent him crackling flares he returned in kind.

They stumbled through the empty streets, into the apartment building and into her room, falling onto the berth and merging swiftly, coolant beading on their exterior metal plating.

Illusion fell into stasis quickly, already tired from her exertions on the stage, but Mirage stayed awake, propped up on one elbow, watching the sleeping femme tenderly. Finally he lay down, one arm still curled around her shoulders, and also drifted into recharge. He had never felt so entirely at peace.

Illusion's body, used to the alarm, jolted awake early. She half sat up before she remembered that today was a free day, the end of the moon cycle free day. She gratefully sank back down onto her warm berth and snuggled up close to Mr Blue.

"No 'cademy?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Not today Mr Blue," Illusion nuzzled him, "Call your friends and ask if training is on today. It might not be, if your commander follows the traditions of this planet."

"'Kay," Mirage pulled himself out of recharge completely and sent a message to Smokescreen – Is training on today? Because this planet has a traditional free day, and I was wondering if we would too.

Smokescreen sent a message back quickly – We don't have the whole day, but we have the first half free! See you later.

Mirage allowed himself a rare grin and whispered into Illusion's audio, "We have the first half off. What do you want to do?"

Illusion sighed and relaxed in his arms, "Just lie here for a while," She murmured, a dreamy smile on her face, "Like we can't do on normal days." Mirage obliged her, and surprisingly, felt good not to be rushing anywhere or worrying about anything. It was nice to just lie here in a warm berth, holding Illusion close to him.

They dozed comfortably for a while, each content in the small world they had made for themselves before waking up properly.

"So what do people do when there's a free day?" Mirage asked as they got out of the berth.

Illusion smiled and kissed him, "Exist!" She whispered joyfully and took his hand, leading him out of her room. The streets weren't as empty as they usually were, and Illusion laughed out loud – she loved free days!

"Come on!" She laughed, pulling Mr Blue into the centre of the crowd and wrapping her arm around his waist. He rested his arm on her shoulders and smiled. This was the perfect day.

"You know what I miss most?" Mr Blue asked Illusion later on, when they'd stopped in a bar for some energon.

"What?" She peered at him curiously from over the top of her glass.

"The plains of Cybertron," Mirage smiled, remembering. "They were the greatest sight I've ever seen, except for that sky you showed me last night. They stretch for megamiles in every direction, nothing growing on them, nothing living except turbo-foxes. Just…nothing. As far as you can see. Nothing at all."

"I'd like t'see them," Illusion smiled, "They sound…big."

Mirage laughed, "They are!" He stopped, "I wish I could see them again,"

Illusion gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment before paying the bartender and pulling him to his feet. "Come on," She smiled, "We may not have plains as great as Cybertron, but we have somethin' close."

Mirage followed her curiously as she led him beyond the town, beyond the heaps of scrap that circled it, and stood still on a small outcrop. Illusion hauled herself up ahead of him and gazed at the horizon, a smile on her face.

"What is it?" Mirage circulated air into his systems as he climbed up beside her, "What is it?"

She smiled at him and turned his face to the view in front of them. Mirage gaped. Instead of plains of metal, as on Cybertron, here was a crater of enormous proportions, each surface coated with some sort of fine dust, shimmering and glittering silver and grey.

It was truly beautiful, spreading in every direction as far as the optic could see. Mirage however, sensed something was different, wrong. Though the dust was everywhere, coating every surface with a fine cover of glitter, nothing moved. No living thing stirred – the whole area was as still as death. In a flash, he remembered the day the Decepticons had attacked the towers – he had been overwhelmed with terror, and had unknowingly activated his cloaking device. The unnerving stillness reminded him of the bodies that had fallen around him – his creators, associates, hunting partners…no friends, he realised. But the stillness…it was disquieting, and he feared to break it.

"Apparently, the whole town is built on the ruins of a fallen star," Illusion murmured beside him, "The star landed on this planet 'nd carved its way through the surface, leavin' a cursed dust behind it. The dust looks beautiful, but brings death. If you touch it, it won't come off, nd'll spread into a web of fine gauze over y'r entire body. Every move you make makes it constrict till you can't move at all, killin' you. The same happens if you draw the dust in on y'r air circulation, 'cept the web'll spread inside y'r body, chokin' y'r systems an' contractin' till they're crushed an' you deactivate."

"That's horrible," Mirage murmured, staring at the crater of silver-grey dust that suddenly seemed a lot more threatening. "It sounds a bit like a nano-fleet flower."

"What's a nano-fleet flower?" Illusion asked curiously.

"It grows back on Cybertron," Mirage told her, "It blooms in the northern regions of the Iaconian plains. The blooms are about as wide as my hand," He stretched out his palm in demonstration, "And coloured in all sorts of purples and pinks and reds, as many different hues as the optic can take in. The metal shines and gleams as though wet, and it emits a strange radiation…enticing animals towards it. Sparklings are in most danger from the radiation, as their minds are still young."

"How is the radiation dangerous?" Illusion asked, optics bright with curiosity.

"The radiation waves themselves don't hurt the body," Mirage said, frowning, "But they affect the mind. They encourage animals to come towards them, and when they are close enough, the flower will leap forward and cut the throat of whatever it is that stands before it. The last thing that passes before the animals mind is amazement that such a seemingly delicate bloom could have such razor-edged petals. The flower then attaches a straw-like stem to the cut that killed the animal and drinks it dry."

Illusion shuddered, "That mus' be the worst death," She whispered, gazing out on the softly glittering dust, twinkling innocently, "To know it's comin', and bein' utterly helpless."

Mirage suddenly noticed shapes among the deadly star dust. "There are 'Bots down there!" He cried, starting forward. Illusion pulled him back with a shout, optics wide in horror.

"Don' go near it!" She gasped, turning his face to hers, "Don' look at it! It enchants with its beauty! Those 'Bots've b'n dead for planet cycles! When the star first landed, the settlers nearby were enchanted by the star dust and ran right into it, realising too late how dangerous it was! Don't add to their ranks!"

Mirage dragged his optics away from the shapes and shuddered. What an end. He looked down at Illusion and saw with a start of affection how scared she had been. He pulled her into a hug, stroking her back lightly.

"I won't add to the ranks of the dead," He whispered, "Not yet, anyway." Illusion smiled into his plating and hugged him back. She wound her arm around his waist and steered him from the view of the crater. The free morning would end soon, and Illusion determined to show Mirage some of more entertaining aspects of life in the town she called home.

The pair continued their meetings at night, and when another free day rolled around, it suddenly brought Illusion back to the present with a thump.

"Mr Blue," She murmured in his arms as they lay late in her berth.

"Mmm?"

"You'll be goin' soon." She said it with such quiet, sad conviction, that Mirage almost missed the words.

"What do you mean?" He asked, a little sharper than intended.

"Y'r'warrior friends'll move on soon, an' you'll go with 'em." She sighed, "Y'were only meant to stay for two moon cycles, an' you've already overstepped that. You'll be goin' soon, you see."

"No," Mirage shook his head, mind whirling, "I can't…I…" He got up quickly and stood with his back to Illusion, "I need to think," He said bluntly, striding out without waiting for a reply.

Illusion lay back down, curling up in the slight hollow left by Mirage's body. It was still warm. _Way to go Lu,_ she thought bitterly, _you couldn't've waited till later t'tell him that? Something he should've known already_, another part of her added. She groaned and rolled over. Well this was slag.

Mirage arrived to find the training base in an uproar. "What's going on?" He asked Smokescreen, who had arrived at the same time as him off the night watch (not that he'd been watching much).

"Looks like they're packing everything up," Smokescreen muttered, optics wondering over the piles of equipment that were being loaded into crates ready for transport.

"Oi! Princling!"

Mirage groaned and turned to see the commander striding towards him angrily. "What makes you think you can just stand back and watch while everyone else does their fare share of work?"

"Mirage and I just got off the night shift," Smokescreen butted in, slightly stressing the 'I'. The commander gave him a dirty look for ruining his sport but didn't intervene.

"Then get to work!" He growled, giving Mirage a whack around the head as he left.

"Why?" Mirage cried when he was out of audio scope, "Why does he hate me? What have I done to him that was so awful it makes him want to humiliate me like this?"

Smokescreen shrugged sympathetically, "Primus knows," He said, "But we'd better help unless you wanna get hauled."

Mirage rolled his optics and heaved a crate onto his back. "Where do you think we're going?"

"Back to Cybertron I heard," Another mech said as he plodded past, his back laden with two large crates, "The 'Cons are gathering strength and Megatron's moving on south Iacon soon."

"As if he hadn't done enough there already," Mirage said, his voice cold and angry. He shifted the burden on his back to his shoulder and stalked off to where the crates were being dropped.

"What's his problem?" The mech asked, affronted.

"He lived in the towers, remember?" Smokescreen said, shouldering a crate.

"Oh yeah, the princling," The mech nodded, "The towers deserved to be destroyed. Would've done it myself if the 'Cons hadn't got there first."

"What was so bad about the towers?" Smokescreen asked, bowing under the weight of the crate. The mech looked at him like he was an idiot and Smokescreen held up his forearm to show a scar on the underside, "Tunzra," He said, by way of explanation.

The mech 'ohhh'ed in comprehension, then leaned in close to Smokescreen, "Under the second Golden Age, the Iaconians were hard hit, the southerners especially, but the high folk of Iacon wouldn't help, preferring to build their towers and bridges and spires as high and as big as they could, on the backs of the poor folk. They drove us into the dirt in their quest for beauty. Pah!"

He jerked his head, optics narrow with disgust and trudged away. Smokescreen went on more slowly, thinking about this new information. As a Tunzra, he had never been to Iacon – his people had made a living as merchants and traders, constantly on the move between small settlements. He had been a good trader, as he had a quick mind, always twisting his words until the buyer was so caught up he'd buy anything Smokescreen shoved under his nose.

The mech smiled at the memory. Life had been so simple, he had hankered for more, his darting mind unsuited to the slow ways of life the Tunzra were used to. He had tried to ease the monotony with games and tricks, practising them over and over in his free time until they were perfect. His mind was suited to games and gambling, and Smokescreen had soon made a name for himself, though he still wished for more.

Well he'd gotten his wish. Smokescreen's smile faded as he remembered the day his creator had ripped off a 'Con, and it had returned that night, utterly destroying their stalls and supplies. The day after, it had returned again, with some friends. They killed almost everyone there, including Smokescreen's creators.

Smokescreen had joined the Autobot army as soon as he was able, and vowed to protect those who were defenceless as the Tunzra had been. He would hide them with his smoke, and kill any who ventured into its shadows.

A noise made the grey mech look up. The dusky indigo sky was streaked with smoke as a small shuttle circled above. Smokescreen zoomed in on it, checking for the Autobot insignia. There – on each wing. But it could still be a fake.

Smokescreen moved to the deposit pile and dumped his crate on top before moving into a shadowed area and watching the shuttle carefully. What would a 'Con decoy do? Keep their attention while a larger attack force moved in?

He nodded to himself and scaled the outside of the main building, crouching on the top. He scanned the surrounding area for any large forces. None. What else would a 'Con do? Could this be a suicide mission?

Smokescreen glared hard at the shuttle, trying to get as much information as possible visually. The make was Autobot, but could have easily been replicated. Well, if it was a 'Con, they would have to see what they shot at. Best to know it was a real 'Con first though.

Just to be safe, Smokescreen allowed the thick black smoke to rise in his valves. One move from his vents and the smoke would hide the training ground entirely. That was one thing Smokescreen had learned from Mirage – sometimes to fight, you had to hide first.

The commander was down below, talking into his forearm. He nodded and the shuttle wheeled in to land. Smokescreen didn't stop the smoke circulating to his vents. Commanders could be tricked. But the mech who stepped out of the shuttle was so obviously an Autobot, Smokescreen almost laughed.

For one thing – he was small. Not as small as a minibot, but not that much taller either. Smokescreen zoomed in on him. The mech was wearing a visor that covered his optics, and Smokescreen nearly opened his vents – a visor could easily hide red optics.

The commander had reached the same conclusion, a little slower than Smokescreen, and jabbed a finger at the visor accusingly. The new mech looked slightly wary, but removed the visor for a second. Smokescreen looked hard – the optics weren't red, but neither were they Autobot blue – the mech was blind.

In a flash, the visor was back on, and an easy grin settled itself on the mech's face. The commander looked grudging, but led the mech towards the main building. The door was right under Smokescreen, and he dared not move. The commander went in, but the new mech looked up and saw him. Smokescreen froze.

But the mech simply grinned and saluted him before following the commander inside. Huh. Well that was new. Smokescreen shrugged to himself as he climbed down, telling himself not to question his luck as he went to pick up another crate. After all – he was just a grunt.

Mirage groaned as the horn blew. A training exercise. Great, that was all he needed after all this heavy lifting. But he ran with the other soldiers to the training ground anyway. Why give the commander another excuse to hit him for being late?

It was only when Smokescreen nudged him in the line that Mirage noticed the visored 'Bot standing slightly to the side, watching them quietly. The commander made his way along their row and Mirage fought the urge to groan as he stopped in front of him. What a surprise.

"Was joining in the grunt work hard for you princling?" The commander sneered. Mirage stared stonily ahead, not meeting the 'Bot's optics. "Never mind," He went on, "You can be first on the field for this little exercise I like to call life and death."

He stood back slightly so he could glare at everyone, "The idea is," He yelled, "That a 'Bot runs out onto the field and you shoot at him. We time how long it takes him to go down. Princling, you're first!" He chuckled wickedly and yanked Mirage from the line.

Mirage sighed inwardly. Would the commander never tire of these games?

"Arm 'n' load!" The commander bellowed. The assembled 'Bots did so and the commander stepped out of the line of fire. "Get runnin' princling!" He cackled, giving the signal to open fire.

Mirage growled as he dodged the shots the best he could, but his fellow soldiers had good aim, and with that many of them all aiming at him, he didn't have much of a chance. Out of the corner of his optic, he saw the commander load up a small gun and shoot at him.

The shot hit him dead on his left ankle. He yelled in pain and stumbled slipping on the compact ground and falling over, skidding to a halt near the visored 'Bot's feet. Shots rained into his back, stinging like crazy, but the real pain came from his ankle. He dared a look down and saw the metal was laid open to the wires, sparking and oozing energon in a steady flow.

For some reason the shots increased and Mirage curled into a ball. Finally the anger, pain and humiliation pushed his inhibitions aside and he rose shakily to his knees. The shots increased yet more and Mirage's temper snapped.

"Slag it!" He snarled, and activated his cloaking shield. He crawled away from the firing area and nursed his ankle tenderly. The wires were throbbing and he was beginning to feel weak from lack of energon in his systems.

The soldiers followed the trail of energon he was leaking and the commander screamed and bellowed at him while he bled energon into puddles on the hard ground.

"Sir?" One of the mechs ventured. The commander spun on him in a fury.

"What?"

The mech flinched back, bur continued bravely, "He's loosing quite a lot of energon, sir. I think he should see a medic."

"Oh you think so do you?" The commander sneered, but ordered him and another 'Bot to help Mirage down to the medic when the visored mech came over to see what the problem was.

Smokescreen lingered, watching as the visored one spoke to the commander in a deep serious voice, all traces of a grin gone from his face. He couldn't hear the words, but peered at them, taking in their body language as he would in a chezra game, trying to determine what the other players were thinking by reading their bodies.

The commander looked defensive, blustering and blowing with wide gestures of his arms – he was nervous. The other stood stiff, his hands clenched at his sides, though his stance was relaxed – he was angry, but calm in his way of dealing with it. _A skilled player_, Smokescreen thought, _I'd like to play against him_.

The visored 'Bot turned as though hearing Smokescreen's thoughts and looked directly at him. The commander shouted and started towards him, but the other laid a restraining hand on his arm and nodded for Smokescreen to go.

He did so, grateful that he had gotten away, and somehow disappointed not to have seen more.

Illusion sensed Mirage's despondent mood as soon as she stepped inside the room. "What's wrong?" She asked, sitting down on the berth beside him.

He didn't meet her gaze, looking instead at his feet. "We leave in two planet turns." He mumbled quietly.

Illusion's spark jolted painfully in its casing and she suddenly struggled to draw air into her systems. "Where?" She managed.

Mirage shrugged painfully, not taking his optics off his feet, "The mechs say Iacon, on Cybertron." He glanced at Illusion. Her optics were closed tightly and her hands were gripping the sides of the berth so hard they threatened to buckle. Then abruptly, she relaxed.

"We knew you'd leave," She said softly, turning her face to his. "Let's make the last two nights worth your credits."

Mirage cupped her face in his hand, "I stopped caring about the credits ages ago," He whispered furiously, "Didn't you?"

Illusion leaned into his hand and then buried her face in his shoulder. "Oh Mr Blue," She murmured, her pain showing for those three words. Mirage held her tightly and they fell back on the berth, merging slowly and bitterly, treasuring each moment.

Illusion woke in the night and found she couldn't bear to look at him; it hurt too much. She had become used to Mr Blue being in her room when she got back, used to the way his spark pulsed while he slept, used to his kisses and kindness.

But he had to leave, and her dream would end. She could not be faithful – she had to make credits, and all she was qualified for was merging. Eventually she slipped into a fitful restless recharge, her spark pulsing in shuddering jolts.

She woke to Mr Blue stroking her face. She felt wide awake, as though she hadn't slept at all, and she smiled up at him sadly.

"Come with me," He whispered, optics betraying his desperation. She shook her head.

"I can't. What would I do? I'm only good for dancing and merging, and I need to pay back Screwdrive."

"He doesn't ask that of you," Mirage cried.

"But my honour does!" Illusion sat up and hugged her legs to her chest. "You know I can't be faithful to you," She said quietly, so quietly he almost missed it.

"But you can come with me!" Mirage grasped her shoulders, "We came here to recruit, mech and femme alike! All the army asks is that you are healthy and have a strong body!"

"I can't come!" Illusion yelled, starting to shake, "I have to pay back Screwdrive, I have to finish my course! I can't…"

"Please? For me?" Mirage tilted her face up to his but she still shook her head, agony in her eyes.

"I can't," Her voice wavered, "Not even for you. I have to stay here. My honour demands it."

"Your honour is dust if you're dead!" Mirage shouted, optics slanted in sorrow. Illusion just shook her head and turned her face away.

"My honour is all I have left," She whispered, and Mirage could suddenly feel her shoulders shaking under his hands. He closed his optics and opened them again painfully, then pulled her trembling form into an embrace.

"You have me," He told her gently and she shivered in his arms.

"Yeah Mr Blue," She closed her optics, "I got you. But I still can't go."

Mirage was about to rebuke her when Smokescreen sent him a message – Hurry up and get down here! It's something big!

Illusion sighed and hugged him hard before drawing away. "See you tonight Mr Blue," She smiled sadly, kissing him on the cheek and grabbing her student stickers, closing the door behind her.

Mirage sighed sadly. He needed her, but she was so stubborn! His alarm beeped and he trudged out of the room. He had to get to the base.

He arrived just as the warriors formed ranks. Mirage noticed that next to the shuttle on the landing was a small battle ship, large enough to carry around twenty soldiers. The commander was in a foul mood, lashing out left and right.

The visored mech walked into vision and grinned broadly at everyone present. "You'll've seen me hangin' round yesterday," He said in a deep voice, "And you must've wondered who the slag I was and why I was watchin' your trainin' sessions."

A few 'Bots looked surprised at this mech's casual manner and way of speech, Mirage included. He had expected the mech to be top brass, yet he spoke with common slang!

The mech grinned wider and continued to talk, "I'm Jazz, and while most of you'll be goin' on to Iacon with him," He jerked a disrespectful thumb at the commander, who spluttered with fury and Jazz ignored, "A couple of you'll be comin' with me."

Mirage wondered vaguely who it would be and what it was for. Special operations, probably.

"Now they'll both earn some stuff off me on the trip, then I'll drop one of them off with one of my friends on Tyger Pax, and the other'll stay with me for a while before I pass 'im on."

The mechs muttered to each other excitedly. Who would it be? Which lucky mechs would get to escape the commander and travel with this easy-going 'Bot?

Jazz grinned. "I'm lookin' for you," He pointed to Smokescreen.

The grey mech's optics widened. "Why?" He asked, confused.

"'Cos you watch," Jazz smirked, "And from what I hear you play a damn good hand in chezra."

That part was certainly true, Mirage thought dryly. Smokescreen had nearly bled him dry before he learned to decline the offers to play his games.

"And the other mech I need is the invisible one," Jazz smiled as the outrage he had predicted broke out in the ranks. The one he needed, Mirage, just stood still, optics a total blank. Of all things, he had not expected this.

Jazz placed a hand on the young mech's shoulder and gently steered him away. "Wha…" The blue and white mech shook his head in shock, "Why-?"

Jazz chuckled. "You have the best raw material for a spy I've ever seen," He told him.

"A spy…?" Mirage muttered in a daze. Jazz nodded and began an animated conversation with Smokescreen about chezra.

"When do we leave?" Mirage interrupted suddenly, fear creeping into his mind.

"Tonight," Jazz told him carelessly, then looked closer at the mech's shell shocked expression. "Something wrong?"

Mirage looked faintly sick, and Jazz narrowed his optics behind his visor. "I'm guessing you've got someone special in town?" Mirage's expression was answer enough and Jazz nodded, "Uh huh. Well look, I can give you till the planet turns. Then we leave. You've got till then to say goodbye."

Jazz laughed as Mirage looked for a second like he would hug him, then disappeared and ran in the direction of the town like the Unmaker was after him.

Illusion had just walked out of the Academy gates when Mr Blue appeared beside her. She cried in surprise as he pulled her into an ally. "I'm leaving," He whispered urgently, "Now,"

Illusion's optics widened. "Why?"

"I was selected," Mirage hugged her close, "You were right! I was picked as a spy!" Illusion choked out a laugh that he should be chosen now, leaving him only a few precious moments with her.

Mirage also sensed the irony of the moment and laughed bitterly. "I'd turn it down if it meant I could stay with you," He whispered.

Illusion shook her head and placed her fingers on his lips, "Don't say that," She said, "You were meant for this all along."

"I was meant for _you_!" Mirage cried, frustration and anger and helplessness and love all breaking their way into his voice.

Illusion kissed him fiercely, "And I for you," She murmured, resting her forehead against his. They rested in silence, optics closed, then Illusion spoke.

"As soon as can, I'll leave. I'll come and find you. But till then," She raised her optics to his, white into blue, "Look up Mr Blue," She sung softly. He did. The sky was as beautiful as it had been the first time she had shown him, only this time the stars stood out brighter, glinting and flaring in the almost pink patches of sky surrounded by deepest blue and purple.

"Look up at the sky Mr Blue," Illusion nuzzled his chin, "Don't hold your head so low y'can't see its beauty."

"I'll look up at it and think of you," Mirage whispered brokenly.

"And I'll think of you," Illusion murmured back, in just as much torment. They kissed with passionate desperation and yearning, knowing that they would not see each other again for thousands of planet cycles, maybe longer, maybe never at all.

Mirage's commlink beeped and a message from Jazz told him to hurry or they'd leave without him. "Go," Illusion pushed him away from her, "Go,"

Mirage started to leave, then rushed back, taking Illusion in his arms and kissing her as hard as he could, trying to put all he felt into it. Illusion clung to him tightly, kissing him back before drawing back and pushing him away once more.

"Go," He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and kissed her one last time, a kiss of regret and sweetness and sorrow, and then he was gone.

"I love you," He whispered into her audio.

"I love you too." Illusion hugged herself tightly as she felt his presence move away, out of the ally and down the street, breaking into a run. Only then did she run too, in the opposite direction, towards the star dust crater.

She hauled herself up onto the over hang just as a small battle ship launched into the air, trailing thin smoke behind it. She watched as it wheeled and flew away until it was no more than a dot, and then gone forever.

She felt so empty as she walked back to her room in a daze and fell onto the berth. There was a dip, a curving hollow in the padding where he had lain, and it was only then that Illusion cried, circuit-wrenching sobs that cut the spark and carved open the wires.

"I will see you again," She whispered through her pain, "Even if I have to travel across the universe, I'll see you again…Mirage."


End file.
